Abacus Volume 5 (September 1996 - August 1997)
by Al E. Smith

Number 1 (September 1996)

• Riffs
• Friendly Persuasion / Dec Hides
• Aquae Sulis
• Write Away John Dory
• Busy Beam: The Steve Beam Tour
• Tri-Out / Harry Wise
• Never Mind the Ballots ... / Arthur Illery
• Criminal Acts / Paul Hallas
• Remains to be Seen
• Just Like Eddie
• The Malady Lingers On / David Hawkins
• Reviews: The Sticky Blue Book
• Speckleation / Ken Speckle
• Fight of Hand

Number 2 (October 1996)

• Riffs
• Imogenetic
• Simon Says
• Keeping Company
• How Does Peter Do It? / Roy Walton
• Balducci's Double
• Collectic
• Message Understood / Roger Curzon
• Max-Wax / Max Maven
• Lead on McDuffie / Walt Lees
• The World's Fastest Sandwich
• Procuring the Aces
• Reeling in the Years / Abe Akers
• Photatad / Paul Hallas, Peter Duffie
• You Bet / Richard Gamble
• The Devious Diary
• A-Peal / Adam Bell
• Subway Sandwich
• The Bold Widow / Peter Duffie

Number 3 (November 1996)

• Please Mister Postman
• Riffs
• Paul Daniels Writes ...
• Wisewords: Bill Foulds
• Watch / Walter E. Ritter
• Hanging On the Telephone / Len Jonathan
• Speckleation / Ken Speckle
• Pro-Test
• Eastbourne
• Deceptive Diary / Dominic Kent
• At the Table
• Photatam / Paul Hallas, Max Maven
• Summertime Views
• Nescience of Conjuring Literature / Kenneth Sharples

Number 4 (December 1996)

• You Don't Say
• Riffs
• I Need Three Volunteers ... / Walt Lees
• The Good the Bad and the Irony / George Parr
• Sunday Fading
• Freddie Firth writes ...
• Lance Alot - Or Just Too Much?
• No Backing
• Pen Chant / Gerry Andrew
• Speckleation / Ken Speckle
• The Things They Say Dept.
• Curzon's Card Spin / Roger Curzon
• Imogenetician / Dave Wyton
• Tony's Travels / Tony Griffith
• Al's Tavels

Number 5 (January 1997)

• Topology
• Riffs
• Speckleation / Ken Speckle
• Pen Chant (2) / Gerry Andrew
• Decks-Territory
• Mating Season IV / Steve Beam
• Jack's Alternative / Jack Jansen
• Beam and Gone
• Thanks to Sherlock
• The Point / Neil Harrison
• News Just In
• Al's Travels
• A Ten-Deux Mystery / Ken Allard

Number 6 (February 1997)

• Bad Day At Blackpool? Stars Of Close-Up Magic
• Riffs
• Duffie's Deal / Peter Duffie
• Houdini's Hand / Lewis Jones
• Geoffrey Green
• Suitor Swim / Phil Goldstein
• The Point / Neil Harrison
• A Christmas Clinker: Look to See Me No More
• Straight Line Talking / Toby Bartholomew
• Thinking Feat / Malcolm Gill
• Coin Dubois / Alastair Cooke
• The Good The Bad and The Googly / George Parr
• Check The Deck
• Here and There
• Doc McCree's Casebook
• Inside Close-Up / Shaun McCree

Number 7 (March 1997)

• Out of the Top Hat
• Riffs
• Fate Date / Ivor Mefford
• Close-Down Close-Up? / Ken Sharples
• Bannon The Run
• Catalists / Ed Ward
• One Way Clive Sullivan
• In the Frame / Wayne Dobson
• Prose and Cons: The Prostitution of Magic?
• Peterborough
• Quick Countdown / Adam Bell
• Clothes Maketh ...? / Tony Griffith

Number 8 (April 1997)

• Stuff The Lot
• Riffs
• In the Frame / Wayne Dobson
• Shadow Time
• Service with a Smile / Walt Lees
• Photat / Paul Hallas
• Bland Hotel
• Down Under / Bernard Rasmussen
• Kane Spotting: Swindle Coincidence / Peter Kane
• Sleights and Subtleties / Roger Crosthwaite

Number 9 (May 1997)

• Abacusian Judiciary
• Riffs
• Sleights and Subtleties / Roger Crosthwaite
• Rabbit Stuff
• Shelf Working
• Joel Bauer at Earls Court / J. Ron Thompson
• UpsanDowns
• Here and There
• Deep and Christ / Reinhard Müller
• Perdagain / Al E. Smith
• Nemo Nomore
• Twenty to Ten / Alan Francis
• Two-Thots-On-Ten-Deux / Peter Duffie

Number 10 (June 1997)

• Dynamic Year Bookers (1)
• Riffs
• Catalogical
• Stage Rout
• Whatever Happened to ... Dept
• YoHo Oh-No
• Loomis Aims / Bob Loomis
• Aqua Sulis
• Dernitz
• Odds and Sods
• Paul Dick and Harry
• Joe Magic Asks ...
• Brad / Peter Duffie
• Really?
• Off the Shelf: Turning Over New Leaves
• Lessons Are Extra / John Bannon
• Deeper and Christer: Prediction in Red / Reinhard Müller

Number 11 (July 1997)

• Dynamic Year Bookers (2)
• Riffs
• The Upjog Switch / Roger Crosthwaite
• On the Beat
• Griff on Bath / Tony Griffith
• A Dose of ...
• Four Addings and Wrongforall / Ken Speckle
• Rediction / Raymond Jones
• Paul Daniels interview
• Fifty Percent Solution

Number 12 (August 1997)

• Number One
• Riffs
• Bragger's Mindreading / Roger Crosthwaite
• Battle of the Bulge
• Geoffrey Durham interview
• No Signature / Ken Speckle
• Wedding Bell Blues / David Hawkins
• Ten-Deux-Revisited / Peter Duffie
• Take No Chances / Jack Jansen
• O'Brien's Lyin: lie detector / Mike O'Brien
• Nor Brad Major / Phil Goldstein

word count: 90496 which is equivalent to 361 standard pages of text